ACC Announces UNC's 2026-27 Basketball Opponents

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Nearly five months from tipping off its first season under Michael Malone, North Carolina took another step in finalizing its 2026-27 schedule Thursday. 

As part of the ACC’s 18-game conference schedule model adopted ahead of the 2025-26 season, the Tar Heels will take on seven teams exclusively in Chapel Hill, another seven exclusively on the road, and will match up with Duke and Louisville both at home and away from the Smith Center. 

The seven teams the Tar Heels are slated to play only in Chapel Hill include Cal, Georgia Tech, Miami, NC State, SMU, Stanford, and Virginia. 

On the road, UNC will play Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest. 

The Tar Heels will not match up with Clemson, which is the first time the Tigers haven’t been on UNC’s schedule in 75 years. The 2026-27 season also marks the second straight season in which UNC will match up with NC State just once — and the first season UNC won’t play at NC State in 80 years.

UNC’s ACC opponents above will join UNC’s non-conference schedule, which as of this writing consists of: 

Vs. Western Carolina: Nov. 2
Vs. Wofford: Nov. 6
Vs. Wyoming: Nov. 10
Vs. Georgia: Nov. 13
Vs. Marshall: Nov. 20
@ Georgetown: Dec. 12
Vs. Kentucky (CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden): Dec. 19
Vs. The Citadel: Dec. 21

North Carolina and Butler announced in October a home-and-home series set for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons, with the Tar Heels scheduled to host the opening matchup in either November or December 2026, though an official date has yet to be finalized.

UNC has almost three weeks between games after hosting Marshall on Nov. 20, leaving open a sizable window in the calendar for the Tar Heels to participate in a Thanksgiving-week game or event. Premier events like the Players Era Festival and Maui Invitational have already announced participating teams for 2026, while other events, like the Battle 4 Atlantis remains to be named. There are unconfirmed reports that UNC is in discussions with West Virginia for a game in Charlotte that week.

Last season, North Carolina competed in the Fort Myers Tip-Off over Thanksgiving week, where the Tar Heels faced St. Bonaventure on Nov. 25 and Michigan State on Nov. 27.

The Tar Heels are also still awaiting their ACC-SEC Challenge opponent. In previous seasons, the event has been held either during the final week of November or the opening week of December. Last season, North Carolina’s road matchup against Kentucky was announced on June 12.